Tube-bending machine.



Patented Feb. 20, |900.

(Application med June 2a, 1899.)

3 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

f" I l I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I IIIIIIIIHIH H Ill JIJ

Invent-07* .j/tteszf mwmi gw... Mm/MM @y {umu/@wf L. H. BRINKMAN.

TUBE saumur; nAcHlNE.

(Application led June 23, 1899.)

Patented Fb. 207 |900.

' 3 sheets-sheet 2 No. 643,759. Patented Feb. 20, |900. L. H. BRINKMAN.

TUBE BENDING MACHINE.

(Application led June 28, 1899,)

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIES II; BRINKMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y\.

TUBE-BENDING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,7 59, dated February 20, 1900.

Application filed June 23, 1899. Serial No. 721,548. (No modeL) To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, LoUIEs H. BRINKMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of N ew York, borough of Brooklyn, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tube-Bending Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

This invention has for its object to produce a machine or apparatus for effecting the bending of tubes to a desired form, particularly such tubes as are employed in plumbing, although the machine is not restricted to the particular use referred to.

The invention consists in various features of construction and arrangement, all of which coperate in the production of the desired result and will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which, for purposes of explanation, a practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

In the drawings, Figure l isa plan View of the machine which has been chosen for illustration, part ofthe driving mechanism being broken off to save space. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, with the backing-off or withdrawing lever omitted and its supporting-bracket in section. Fig. 3 isa horizontal section on the plane indicated by the lines 3 3 of Fig. 2, with the driving mechanism shown in plan View. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the clamp for the end of the tube to be bent. Fig. 5 isa detail view, partly in section, showing the mandrel-carrier engaged by its holding-latch and the backing-off or withdrawing lever in relation thereto. l

In the machine represented in the drawings the frame or pedestal A supports in suitable bearings a shaft B, which carries the former and other parts hereinafter referred to. For convenience in construction and in substitution of different formers a disk C is secured to the shaft B above the bed-plate or top A of the frame or pedestal, as by means of a spline c. The formerD, which is shaped according to the bend to be made and is grooved, as at d, in its working face to accommodate the tube to be bent, engages the upper end of the 'shaft B and is held to the disk, to rotate therewith, by a locking-pin or bolt d. For the purpose of holding the end of the tube to be bent, a clamp E is carried on an arm C', adjustably secured by a split hub upon the hub of the disk C, the end of said arm being provided with a split boss c/ to receive the spindle of the clamp. The latter comprises two parts E and E2, which are hinged together at one side and receive the lblocks c' e2, which are formed to t the tube to be bent, said blocks being readily removable to permit others to be substituted. Links E3 straddle the projecting ends of the parts E E2, being united by bolts e3, one of which underlies the projecting end of the lower part E', while the other passes through slots in the links and through the projecting end of the other part E2. An eccentric clamping-lever E4 is pivotally mounted between the upper ends of the links to bear upon the projecting end of the upper part E2 and press it iirmly toward the lower part. To assist the clamp E and prevent the tube from springing away from the former; an eccentric clamp F, having a grooved face, as at f, to accommodate the tube, is pivotall y mounted nearer the axis of the former and its curved portion. A plate F', secured to the disk C, supports the clamp F and is provided with a slotf to permit adjustment of the clamp in a direction substantially parallel with the face of the former, the plate being secured to the disk by a bolt-andslot connection, -as shown by dotted lines at f2 in Fig. 1, so as to permit adjustment of the clamp toward and from the face of the former to accommodate tubes of different sizes.

The tube is su pported during the operation of bending by a mandrel G, which carries at its end a two-part ball G', the parts of which are separately connected to the mandrel-stem by links g. The ball lies within the tube at the point where the bending takes place, and the two parts are permitted to move relatively to each other to a limited extent to accommodate themselves to the tube while the bending is taking place. It will be observed by reference to Fig. l that the two parts of the ball are not formed with flat contacting faces, but with cooperating cam-faces, so that as the tube is displaced laterally to a slight extent during the bending one part of the ball will slide upon the face of the other, thereby increasing the diameter slightly and IOO preventing the flattening of the tube, which might otherwise take place as the tube is drawn over the ball. The mandrel is secured by its screw-threaded stem and lock-nuts g2,

so as to permit of longitudinal adjustment, to a mandrel-carrier H, which is free to slide in a suitable guideway II", secured adjustably on the bed-plate of the machine. A collar g is mounted adjustably on the stem of the mandrel to determine the extent to which the tube to be bent shall be slipped upon the mandrel, and thereby the distance from the end at which the bending shall commence. The carrier is provided with a pin or projection h to engage a latch h' when the carrier is in its forward position, whereby such carrier is held from longitudinal displacement during bending and the proper relation between the ball G and the former is maintained. Considerable power is sometimes required to start the mandrel back and withdraw it from the tube when the bending has been completed, and for this purpose a lever I is mounted upon a bracket z'y on the guideway H' of the machine and is adapted to engage a projecting portion of the carrier II. This lever is also adapted to engage the cam-face of the latch 7L', and thereby release the carrier from engagement therewith before the backing off of the car-- rier is commenced.4

It is desirable to guard against lateral displacement of the mandrel and tube during the bending, and for this purpose a presser K is mounted upon the carrier to travel therewith, its forward end being arranged to bear against the tube on the mandrel, while its outer face slides in contact with the end of an abutment-screw K', which is mounted on the bed-plate of the machine.

For rotation of the former during bending, the shaft B may be provided with a wormgear B', which is engaged bya worm l on the driving-shaft L, and provision is also made, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, whereby the rotation of the former shall be stopped at a predetermined point in each operation. Driving-wheels M and M', adapted to drive the shaft L, respectively, in opposite directions and, if desired, at dilferent speeds, are mounted loosely on the shaft L and are adapted to be engaged, respectively, bya shifting clutch member M3, which is keyed to the shaft L to rotate therewith. Said shifting clutch member is engaged by a lever M4, to which is connected a sliding rod M5. Adjustable stops MG on the rod M5 are arranged in the path of a pin or projection Z) on the gear I3', so that the one or the other of said stops is struck by said pin or projection as the shaft B, with the former, reaches the predetermined point in its rotation, and through the described connections the movable clutch member is withdrawn from engagement with the one or the other of the driving-wheels M or M', as the case maybe. A hand-lever M7 is also connected to the rod M5, so that the operator may control the vmovement of the machine.

In the operation of the machine, the carrier and mandrel being drawn to the left in Figs. l and 2, a tube is slipped upon the mandrel until its end reaches the collar g. Its other end is then secured in the clamp E, the shaft B and its connected parts being in their initial positions, and the eccentric clamp F is adjusted so as to press the tube against the former. The abutment-screw K' is then set up, if necessary, to bear against the presser K, and the machine is set in motion. When the bending of the tube has been completed and the machine is stopped, either by hand or automatically, the mandrel and carrier,which before the machine was started had been moved to the right to bring the ball Gr' into proper relation to the former, are started back by the aid of the lever I and are then withdrawn as far as possible by hand. The tube is t-hen released from the clamps E and F and removed from the machine. As soon as the former is rotated back to its initial position the machine is ready for another operation.

It will be obvious that the details of construction and arrangement shown and described herein may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my inventionl. In a tube-bending machine, the combination of a shaft, a former carried by said shaft, a driving-shaft, gears operatively connecting said shafts, driving-wheels to rotate said driving-shaft respectively in opposite directions, a clutch to couple one or the other of said wheels to said driving-shaft, a projection carried with the first-named shaft, and shifting devices for said clutch actuated by said projection, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a tube-bending machine, the combination of a shaft, a former carried by said shaft, a gear on said shaft, a driving-shaft, a gear on said driving-shaft engaging the firstnamed gear, drivingwheels to rotate said driving-shaft respectively in opposite directions, a clutch to couple one or the other of said wheels to said driving-shaft, a pin or projection on said first-named gear, a rod having a stop in the path of said projection, and operative connections between said rod and said clutch, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a tube-bending machine, the combination of a shaft, a former carried by said shaft, a driving-shaft, gears operatively connecting said shafts, driving-wheels to rotate said driving-shaft respectively in opposite directions, a clutch to couple one or the other of said wheels to said driving-shaft, a projection carried with the rst-named shaft, a rod having a stop for engagement by said projection, a hand-lever connected to said rod, and operative connections between said rod and said clutch, substantially as shown and described.

4. In a tube-bending machine, the combi- IOO also carried with the former to rotate therewith and arranged to press and hold the tube against the same, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a tube-bending machine', the combination of a former, means to rotate the same, a clamp carried With the former to engage the end of the tube to be bent, a plate carried with the former, and an eccentric clamp pivotally mounted on said plate to press and hold the tube against the former, substantially as shown and described.

6. In a tube-bending machine, the combination of a former, means to rotate the same, a clamp carried with the former to engage the end of the tube to be bent, a plate carried with the former and slotted parallel With the face thereof, and an eccentric clamp pivotally mounted on said plate and adjustable in said slot, substantially as shown and described.

7. In a tube-bending machine, the combination ot a shaft, a disk secured to said shaft, a former engaging said shaft, a locking device to lock said former to said disk, a clamp carried with said disk to engage the end of the tube to be bent, a plate secured to said disk, and an eccentric clamp pivotally mounted on said plate, substantially as shown and described.

,8. In a tube-bending machine, the combination of a rotating former, means to clamp the tube to be bent to said former, a mandrel, a sliding carrier for said mandrel, and a presser to hold the mandrel and tube against and tube against displacement, and an abutment-screw for contact with said presser` substantially as shown and described.

10.' In a tube-bending machine, the combination of a rotating former, means to clamp the tube to be bent to said former, a mandrel, a sliding carrier for said mandrel, and a latch to engage said carrier and hold the same in its forward position, substantially as shown and described.

11. In a tube-bending machine, the combination of a rotating former, means to clamp the tube to be bent to said former, a mandrel, a sliding carrier for said mandrel, and a lever mounted on the frame of the machine and arranged to bear against said carrier to startv the same back, substantially as shown and described.

l2. In a tube-bending machine, the combination of a rotating former, means to clamp the tube to be bent to said former, a mandrel,

a sliding carrier for said mandrel, a latch to engage said carrier and hold the same in its forward position and a lever mounted on the frame of the machine and arranged to release said latch and to bear against said carrier to start the same back, substantially as shown and described.

13. In a tube-bending machine, the combination of a former, a mandrel-stem, and a split mandrel-ball, the tWo parts of said ball being pivotally connected to said stem, sub stantially as shown and described.

14. In a tube-bending machine, the combia nation of a former, a mandrel-stem, and a split mandrel-ball, the two parts of said ball having contacting cam-faces and pivotally connected to said stem, substantially as shown and described.

This specification signed and witnessed this 20th day of June, A. D. 1899.

LOUIES H. BRINKMAN.

ANTHONY N. J ESBERA, LOUIS R. MOORE.k 

